My latest guilty pleasure is the YA suspense-comedy Outer Banks. How did I get here? Well, it is the end of the month, which is always a lean time for streaming. I had been watching the new National Treasure teen suspense series on Disney+, but it only dribbles out, one episode per week at a time. I needed more content if I was going to make it into February. Somehow, Outer Banks popped up. I guess one treasure hunting set of teens are as good as another. In National Treasure the kids are seeking the treasure of the Aztecs that was hidden from Cortez. In Outer Banks, it is a 200-year-old treasure ship that had grounded ashore, ladened with gold. Here the treasure is just the McGuffin, the hook to lure you in. The true pleasure of this series is seeing a bunch of beautiful people, enjoying themselves in a warm and sunny locale. Did I mention that it is January? There were already two seasons out, with a third one scheduled to drop next month. In this series the protagonists are a group of local poor kids called the Pogues, who while away their time, skipping class, drinking, and running from the local County Mounty. The Pogues are the people who work to maintain the seaside mansions of the seasonal rich, the Kooks. In this class struggle the Kooks are the antagonists. Head Pogue, John B, had just lost his father at sea, leaving him orphaned, underaged and hunted by family services. It seems that being voted off the island like this is the ultimate form of Pogue punishment.

This raises a point of contention that I have with the show. The Pogues are supposed to be sixteen but are played by actors in their twenties. I should overlook this point, especially since the characters act much older than high school students. Almost immediately, nameless baddies begin to chase these kids, who are at first trying to solve the mystery of John B’s father. This soon morphs into a full fledge treasure hunt, in which seemingly everyone on the island knows more about this treasure ship than these kids trying to find it. Another quibble that I have with this series is that no one of note ever truly dies. Their body is not recovered. That is because they are awaiting the next season ending finale for their big reveal. Still, quibbles aside, it was an enjoyable time waster, if not exactly high drama that I burned through in just a few days. No one ever gets hurt, at least no one of note. In about a month, the third season will drop, and I will pick it up where I left off. One of the advantages of coming late to the party is not having to wait too long for the next season.